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“That’s what I like to hear.” He grins.
Shit—he’s actually really happy about this. He wants to help me. He doesn’t feel forced or obligated to. Knowing that makes this agreement feel less like a hand-out and more like a business deal that could benefit us both.
Still grinning, Darius stretches his arm out. We seal the deal with a very official fist bump.
He glances around the busy tavern. “With this business investment, you should be able to hire a general manager to run this place. Then you won’t have to work so hard.”
One corner of my mouth curves into a smile at the thought. “And I can spend more time with Stella, travel occasionally to where Inez’s filming, and maybe—just maybe—actually enjoy life.”
“Sounds good.” He takes a gulp of his beer.
“You should enjoy life, too, man,” I say to him. “What’d you say I help you meet a nice girl? I’m willing to bet that Inez has a single friend from work she could introduce you to.”
Darius holds a hand up in my face. “An actress?! Why would you do that to me? Why are you trying to torture me?” He scoffs, getting more and more worked up at my simple suggestion. “You know what? Save your ‘bet’. Forget this whole business deal. It’s cancelled. I can’t work with you.” He folds his arms.
“The business deal is still on, fuckhead.” I smack the back of his skull. “One day, you’re going to wake up and find yourself wanting more than the stacks and stacks of cash in your bank account.”
“Yeah, well, until then, let’s stick to business. Leave my love life the fuck alone.”
Snorting a laugh, I get back to work, the rest of my shift easy and quiet. At the end of the night, I’m eager to kick my patrons out and close down the place as quickly as possible. I’ve got the most beautiful woman in America waiting for me in my bed, after all.
When I creep through the front door, I find Inez balled up on the living room couch, eyes riveted to the television screen, watching the celebrity gossip channel. The house is dark and I’m assuming that Stella is fast asleep.
“Come, come, come!” Inez whisper-yells, frantically motioning me over as the colors of the TV play across her pretty skin.
I groan out loud the moment I see that Vance Cavendish’s face is being flashed on the screen.
“Why are you watching that garbage? Why are you doing that to yourself?” I grit out as I pad over to the couch and drop down beside her. I want to snatch the remote back, change the channel and burn the thing in the trash.
But this time, the news story is different. This time, Vance Cavendish is not the glittering star of some fake ass interview. This time, he’s the subject of the gossip.
There’s a breaking news ribbon rolling across the bottom of the screen. Sabrina Arborelli pregnancy scandal, it reads.
Oh, tell me more.
A gossip reporter rambles as a social media post pops onto the screen. It’s a sentimental statement that Sabrina and her husband posted just last week to announce their pregnancy.
Then the screen cuts to a grainy video. I squint my eyes at the footage of Sabrina in the backseat of an SUV in a parking garage. A man’s head pops out from under the hem of the shocked TV host’s dress.
My mouth drops open as I stare in disbelief. “Oh shit! That’s Vance Cavendish!” And he’s certainly not clothed.
When the camera zooms in, the so-called heartbroken bachelor flings the TV host across the leather seats and scrambles to roll up the SUV windows.
Inez claps a hand over her mouth as we watch the footage. “I remember the night Sabrina wore that purple dress. The reality show was still filming. Jesus—the two of them were having an affair this whole time!”
According to this gossip show playing on the TV screen, there are rumors circulating that Vance may be the real father of Sabrina’s unborn child. Apparently, Mr. Do No Wrong is not so squeaky clean after all. Ha!
Inez and I sit side by side, watching the news unravel. It’s like a wreck on the side of the road. We can’t look away.
“Wow,” Inez whispers, her eyes wide. “That’s kind of…unexpected.”
“Yeah. Heartbroken, my ass,” I mutter, annoyed that Vance and Sabrina went to those lengths to make Inez look bad when they were hooking up all along.Fucking hypocrites!
She scoffs. “Guess I’m not such a heartbreaker after all, huh?”
I reach out, squeezing her hand. “Or more like, he’s a better actor than everyone gave him credit for. You really dodged a bullet there.”
Inez shudders. “Right?”
